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Quote1 Mr. Stark, you've become part of a bigger universe. You just don't know it yet. Quote2
Nick Fury[src]

History

The Big Bang[]

Before the Big Bang, there were Celestials.[4] Later, there were six singularities that existed before the universe exploded into existence; these six were then compacted into primordial ingots that came to be known as Infinity Stones.[5] Meanwhile, the Celestials brought forth light into the universe and shaped creation, as well as life. Sometime later, they also created the Deviants, creatures tasked with killing apex predators on the planets they were sent to, lest they slow down the planet's population growth. However, over time, when the Deviants began to eat all living beings, the Celestials created the so-called Eternals; humanoid beings with supernatural powers. They are there to wipe out the Deviants to maintain the increasing planetary population. Their memories were wiped after every mission [4]

Thousands of Years Ago[]

The Kree came to Earth and experimented with humans to genetically modify them into weapons (giving them powers), using a process called Terrigenesis. Their first test subject, Hive, was made to command an army of modified humans, but Hive turned the army against the Kree and drove them from Earth. After the Kree left their experiments, the experimented humans formed their own secret society calling themselves the Inhumans. Hive led them, until both the Inhumans and regular humans turned on Hive and banished him to an alien world that they called Maveth through the Kree Monolith. A cult formed not long after made out of Hive's followers whose purpose was to bring Hive back from Maveth. That cult would be renamed in the 20th Century as Hydra.[6][7][8][9]

Malekith sought to harness the power of the Aether, one of the Infinity Stones, to plunge the Nine Realms into darkness as it was before life was breathed into it. His attempt was foiled by the Asgardians and their king Bor. Malekith resorted to sacrificing most of his people in his escape and fell into hibernation in deep space for five thousand years, until the next Convergence.[10]

A meteorite made of Vibranium impacted the continent of Africa and affected the surrounding environment. Five tribes soon settled in the area and founded the country of Wakanda. The tribes were at constant war with one another, but they were eventually unified by Bashenga, who, with the strength bestowed upon him by the Heart-Shaped Herb, became the first King of Wakanda and Black Panther. Unwilling to cede power to a monarch, the Jabari Tribe isolated themselves in the mountains outside Wakanda. With the power of Vibranium, Wakandans became the most technologically-advanced country in the world and adopted an isolationist approach in order to protect Wakanda and its people from all the horrors and petty struggles of the outside world.[11]

When King Bor's son Odin became King of Asgard, Odin, alongside his daughter Hela, colonized the Nine Realms and brought them all under Asgard's rule and protection - making King Odin the "All-Father". Eventually, Hela wanted to expand Asgard's empire. Fearing Hela's lust for power, Odin imprisoned her, wrote her out of Asgard's history, and changed his image to that of a benevolent ruler.[12]

The Dark Ages[]

Earth was soon traveled to by the Asgardians, who visited the peoples of Northern Europe and taught them language and culture. Most importantly, Asgardians, with their advanced technology, protected the primitive humans from the Frost Giants. Early Norse cultures learned much from these visits, although in time the Asgardians would withdraw and their memory would fall into myth and legend.[13]

Early Modern Period[]

By the time of rapid globalization on Earth, groups of magic wielders had already grown in number and taken up studying the different schools of magic. The ancient order known as the Masters of the Mystic Arts covertly safeguarded the world from mystical threats,[14] while other groups (such as the Salem coven of witches) gained notoriety and were persecuted for their alleged practicing of dark magic.[15]

20th Century[]

The 1940s were a tumultuous time on Earth. Depression years and racial disharmony in Europe sparked a Second World War that pressed various factions into a technology race. While Nazi forces occupied much of Central Europe, Hydra was making gains in unconventional warfare. Their leader Johann Schmidt actually managed to procure one of the Infinity Stones; the Tesseract, left behind on Earth by Asgardians. In studying this device Hydra scientists were able to devise new and deadly weapons for their war effort.[16]

In America, Abraham Erskine and Howard Stark were poised on the verge of a breakthrough that would set the stage for the world of the modern "superhero". Erskine had developed a "Super-Soldier" serum that was to transform a soldier from an ordinary man into something altogether stronger, faster, and more resilient. As a result of this experimental process, Steven Rogers became the world's first superhero, "Captain America", but not without cost. Erskine was assassinated and most of the remaining samples of the serum were destroyed before the project could be pushed into widespread use. Rogers and his Howling Commandos defeated Schmidt, all but destroying Hydra in the process, but at the cost of Captain America himself being listed as missing in action.[16] The greater war was won, not with super soldiers, but with countless lives lost due to simple bloody warfare.[17]

Once the war was done, the Strategic Scientific Reserve that created Captain America evolved into a world-spanning security agency they named, Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.)., with one of its founding members being Rogers's former superior and girlfriend Peggy Carter.[18] A collaborator in developing S.H.I.E.L.D. was a former Hydra scientist captured during the War, Arnim Zola, who was secretly also using S.H.I.E.L.D.'s own personnel to create an undercover resurgence of Hydra.[19]

After the success of the Captain America serum, many pursued the creation of another weapon via advances in science. Scientist Hank Pym was the first to succeed, creating a compound that would allow him to shrink down to insect size, yet still, retain the strength of an average human. He named his findings as Pym Particles and donned the mantle of Ant-Man, making it his mission to protect the world from potential threats.[20][21]

Howard Stark, who had assisted with Erskine's program, went on to develop numerous advances in technology and shape the modern world. Learning from the recovered Tesseract, he went on to develop prototype arc reactors, powerful sources of energy in their own right. He was eventually assassinated, leaving his business empire to his young son Tony, while Stark Industries grew into a world-renowned supplier of weapons technology.[22]

In the late 1970s, as part of the ongoing conflict between two alien races, the Kree and the Skrulls, the Kree soldier Mar-Vell infiltrated Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. on Earth, where she acquired the Tesseract and began working to create a light-speed engine using the Infinity Stone's power. After discovering the Skrulls were not a race of terrorists as much as victims of the Kree expansion, Mar-Vell attempted to put the light-speed engine to use to help a number of Skrull refugees.

In 1989, she departed on a test flight with S.H.I.E.L.D. pilot Carol Danvers. A Kree fighter craft shot down the test craft, killing Mar-Vell, and attempted to forcibly steal the core of the spacecraft. In a last-ditch effort to save Mar-Vell's mission, Danvers destroyed the core and unintentionally absorbed its energy. She was then kidnapped by the Kree who sought to harness the energy she absorbed.

In the mid-1990s, Danvers returned to Earth on a mission for the Kree, only to discover her past life that the Kree had been hiding from her. Creating an alliance with S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury, pilot Maria Rambeau, and a group of Skrulls, she rebelled against the Kree and fulfilled Mar-Vell's original mission to transport the Skrull refugees to safety. Danvers let Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. keep the Tesseract on Earth, as she traveled back to take on the Kree homeworld of Hala. She gave Nick Fury a pager that could be used to reach her in the event of an emergency. Realizing the next threats were to come from outer space, Fury was inspired to start looking for heroes like Danvers through the Avengers initiative.[23]

21st Century[]

The dawn of the superhero age might have looked like a brief spark to those who grew up reading the exploits of Captain America or those unaware of Captain Marvel, but it was soon to flare into a far brighter flame. The secrets of Erskine's formula had baffled scientists for decades until Dr. Bruce Banner explored a new direction and bombarded himself with gamma radiation to prove his theories. His experiment was successful in augmenting the human form, but the extent of the mutation was far beyond anything anyone could have anticipated. Banner was transformed into a raging green beast that was later dubbed the "Hulk".[24]

In response to threats posed by such things as the Hulk and the Tesseract, governments of the world formed the World Security Council that supervised S.H.I.E.L.D.[17]

The young Tony Stark had spent the years since his father's death learning the role of businessman and further developing his father's company. An inventive genius himself, he was personally responsible for many of the innovations that made Stark Industries a world leader in weapons technology. On a trip to Afghanistan, his convoy was ambushed, and he was held captive and forced to develop weapons for terrorists. He escaped from his captors by building a battlesuit for himself rather than the missile they wanted, but the whole incident had a profound effect on him. He turned his company away from the path of violence while constructing a series of high-tech battlesuits that he wore into battle himself. Tony's vigilante actions had the effect of ushering in a new superhero age, and taking a leaf from the press he began publicly referring to his heroic persona as "Iron Man".[22]

Iron Man's activities led S.H.I.E.L.D. to take an interest in him. They approached Stark on several occasions and reviewed him for potential inclusion into a select group of individuals, but ultimately withdrew from seeking his personal involvement due to his erratic nature. Instead, they turned their attention to exploring weapons technologies. Their mandate was to protect the world from such powerful threats as the Hulk and to this end, they began to grow from a clandestine police agency into a powerful military force.[25]

S.H.I.E.L.D. kept a close eye on multiple threats at once, Tony Stark's adventures as Iron Man, atmospheric disturbances in New Mexico, and Banner's return to the United States.[26] Soon, the Hulk was made known to the public due to brief battles with the military and another huge monster. Banner wasn't hailed as a hero like Tony Stark had been. Instead, Banner was forced into hiding again, learning how to control the Hulk rather than cure it.[27]

The Asgardians, thought to be nothing more than a myth after centuries of absence, returned once again to the world when the heir to the throne of Asgard, Thor Odinson found himself banished until he could prove himself worthy to rule Asgard. While his initial appearance went unnoticed to all but a few scientists, his hammer Mjolnir caused quite a stir after it impacted in Puente Antiguo, New Mexico, and also drew the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. Thor eventually reclaimed his birthright and announced that S.H.I.E.L.D. could after that count him as an ally.[13]

Alliances would be needed again soon enough. Thanos, in a bid to acquire the Infinity Stones, struck a deal with Thor's brother Loki, to acquire the Tesseract in exchange for rule over the Earth. Immediately upon his surprise return, Loki stole the Tesseract away from S.H.I.E.L.D. In a desperate bid to counter this threat, S.H.I.E.L.D. reactivated an old plan to assemble a group of extraordinary individuals. They called on Tony Stark and Bruce Banner for their scientific expertise. Captain America, reawakened after decades of being frozen in Arctic ice, was called upon to be a super soldier once more. Thor, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Romanoff, and Barton stepped in to round out the new team. Calling themselves the Avengers, they fought Loki and his army of Chitauri to a standstill.[17]

Post-Battle of New York[]

In the wake of the Battle of New York, the world had become a changed place. The heroes and other gifted humans became either idolized for saving the world or feared due to all the destruction and collateral damage caused in the process.[28][29] Some feared the prospect of threats from beyond the known world, but the next threat of significance was a series of terrorist bombings around the globe. Authorities searched in vain for the culprit behind it and were confounded by the series of hijacked television broadcasts that followed. After a scarring attack, Iron Man and his partner the Iron Patriot put a stop to the terrorist attacks.[30]

Contact with worlds beyond Earth was renewed when the Nine Realms of Asgardian cosmology came into alignment. The Aether was reawakened at this Convergence, and with it, once again, came the Dark Elves. It took the combined efforts of Thor and many of his friends to prevent reality itself from being plunged back into darkness.[10]

In response to these numerous threats, S.H.I.E.L.D. commissioned a powerful new protection measure in the form of three new helicarriers. Suspicions surrounding the purpose of these new warships soon saw rogue elements within the agency turn from it and expose a deeper threat behind the new construction effort: Hydra had been infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D. from within, swelling its ranks and influencing its actions, since the end of the Second World War. While being hunted by Rogers' long-lost friend Bucky Barnes, who now found himself brainwashed as an assassin for Hydra known as The Winter Soldier, Hydra's plans for the new helicarriers were finally dashed through the efforts of Captain America and a few of his trusted allies.[19]

S.H.I.E.L.D. ultimately tore itself apart in an internal war between operatives loyal to its founding principles, and those loyal to Hydra. Agent Phil Coulson, resurrected from death just prior to the Battle of New York, and his team evaded much of the conflict and were instrumental in exposing several of Hydra's many operations. As Coulson had been loyal to the end, Nick Fury appointed him the new director of a new S.H.I.E.L.D. as the agency began to reform.[31] Unknown to both, the agents who survived the Hydra uprising aboard the Iliad, led by Robert Gonzales, had formed a S.H.I.E.L.D. of their own.[32]

Far from Earth, a number of factions sought to procure the Orb. Despite a number of compelling individuals committing vast resources to recover this object, Peter Quill, a rogue star-hopping native of Earth who had been abducted from his homeworld in his childhood, was the first to claim it. The Orb in truth contained one of the legendary Infinity Stones, and it was soon wrested from Quill by Ronan the Accuser to be used as a weapon to commit genocide of a star-spanning empire. Quill and a ragtag band of criminals executed a daring plan that saw them successfully oppose Ronan and ultimately place the Orb in safekeeping with the Nova Corps. This act earned them the name of Guardians of the Galaxy.[5]

Scant months after ending the threat of Ronan, the Guardians of the Galaxy found themselves embroiled in a new struggle against a galactic threat after a surprise encounter with Peter's biological father, Ego. Ego, a celestial being who had evolved alone as a small planet, sought to supplant all life in the universe with life of his own creation, and once Quill and his friends discovered this truth they acted on the only practical option available to them, which was to fight. New allies swelled the ranks of the team, and together the group of unlikely heroes triumphed over the living planet, thereby saving the galaxy a second time, while, however, incurring the wrath of the Sovereigns on themselves.[33]

On the streets of New York, "masked superheroes" were given a whole new meaning when blind attorney Matt Murdock began his one-man war against the crime syndicates plaguing Hell's Kitchen. Becoming a crime-fighting vigilante, he took down Wilson Fisk, the leader of these criminal organizations, obtaining the name "Daredevil" in the process.[34]

Hell's Kitchen became the map of a violent cat-and-mouse game when private investigator Jessica Jones sought to stop the psychopath Kilgrave from causing harm with his mind control ability. Jessica, with the help of her friends, put a stop to him in the end, but the loss and damage that had been done were enough to further the unrest between enhanced heroes and the civilians they sought to protect.[35]

The Avengers, reformed after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., sought to secure the alien scepter that had been a pivotal part of the Battle of New York three years prior. The computational power of the scepter, however, had an unexpected impact on Tony Stark's artificial intelligence projects and gave rise to the sentient AI, Ultron. Ultron interpreted his mandate to preserve life as a mandate to wage war on organic life in order to allow his own artificial life to flourish, and so he created an android body for himself to house the newly found Infinity Stone hidden within the scepter. The Avengers challenged Ultron's evolutionary designs and defeated his army of robots, but at such great cost that the war saw a partial fragmentation and reformation of the team.[36]

While snuffing out the final remnants of Hydra, the agents of a new S.H.I.E.L.D., led by Phil Coulson, discovered the Inhumans, descendants of earlier humans who were Kree test subjects, and that one of his own agents, Skye, was part of this lineage. The rise of the Inhumans put S.H.I.E.L.D. in conflict with many different factions, but in the end, they prevented all-out war and started a new specialized task force to keep the peace between man and Inhuman.[37]

Pym Particles resurfaced as yet another threat to the modern world when research scientist Darren Cross sought to rediscover methods of harnessing their power with a view to profiting from selling the technology to military interests. Dr. Hank Pym came out of retirement to put a stop to this plan, and drew Scott Lang, a resourceful engineer and former convict, into his sphere of influence to help him by taking on a mantle he had once worn himself. As the Ant-Man, Lang was able to halt the mass distribution of Pym's dangerous technology with the help of Dr. Pym and a few close allies.[21]

Following the surge of vigilantism in New York City, the New York District Attorney's office began a pubic manhunt for all vigilantes, focusing on Daredevil and the lone gunman known as the Punisher. However, Murdock's efforts to aid the Punisher were interrupted by the arrival of the ninja cult The Hand. It took the partnership of Daredevil and Elektra to stop the Hand from destroying New York, while the Punisher took measures to permanently eradicate most of New York's criminal organizations, avenging the deaths of his family. [38]

Harlem, a community founded on the hopes and aspirations of New York's ethnic minorities, experienced upheaval when crime lords, and a local body politician with connections to the criminal underworld, sought to increase their stake in the city. Luke Cage, a man with incredible strength and unbreakable skin, who had previously helped Jessica Jones to defeat Kilgrave, became something of a reluctant hero as he engaged in a personal war against these elements. His actions proved to be central to the downfall of a number of criminals illegally profiting from the people of Harlem, and he found himself publicly regarded as a hero of the people as a result.[39]

Fifteen years after a plane went missing in the Himalayas, apparently claiming the lives of the wealthy Rand family, a young man arrived in New York claiming to be the lost Daniel Rand. Rand had returned to New York on a personal quest to investigate the Hand and had brought with him knowledge and power of the Iron Fist, an ancient power harnessed by a lone warrior of the Order of the Crane Mother. After struggling to prove his identity, Rand eventually came to blows with elements of the Hand and successfully reclaimed a stake in his late father's company, ending rogue operations to supply and distribute synthetic heroin in the process.[40]

While seeking out allies to combat the Hand, Rand and Colleen Wing's pursuit led them into a reluctant alliance of convenience with Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Jessica Jones, each of them conducting separate investigations into the Hand. Together, the group uncovered how the Hand's ability to resurrect its members lay in a dwindling store of ancient dragon bone. The quartet eventually took their fight straight to the heart of the Hand's operation under the Midland Circle Financial Building, which resulted in the building's demolition. The Hand leadership had been dissolved, but not without the apparent self-sacrifice of Daredevil.[41]

On the world's stage, raising concerns about the unchecked power of enhanced individuals resulted in an international body of nations drafting up the Sokovia Accords, a weighty document intending to curtail the excesses of superhuman power. While initially, the impetus for this measure was the damage from the various public battles fought by the Avengers, a further call for restraint came when the Avengers botched a mission that had resulted in a number of civilian casualties. On the day that the Sokovia Accords were to be signed, a bomb blast in the street outside the building killed the reigning king of Wakanda T'Chaka, and the apparent culprit was Bucky Barnes. The world had been duped however, and the bombing had been the result of Colonel Helmut Zemo's plans to sow the seeds of discord and tear apart the Avengers from within. The ploy was wildly successful in achieving this end and left the world's pre-eminent superhero team in a fractured state after Zemo revealed it was Barnes, under Hydra control, who murdered both of Stark's parents.[42]

Considered a fugitive after fighting alongside Captain America, Natasha Ramanoff is on the run from the law when she meets her adoptive sister, Yelena, also a Black Widow. She learns from her sister that the leader of the Red Room, Dreykov, who took them from their parents and trained them to be assassins from an early age, was not killed by her as Natasha thought but is still alive and continues to train assassins. The two then free their father from prison and join forces with him and their mother to finally bring down the Red Room. While being pursued by Taskmaster, they destroy the Red Room.

A week following T'Chaka's death, his son T'Challa ascended to the throne as his nation's defender, the Black Panther. Shortly afterward, T'Challa was overthrown by his long-lost orphan cousin N'Jadaka, who had been abandoned at a young age by T'Chaka due to Wakanda's isolationist and secretive ways. He grew up to become a hateful extremist who wanted to use Wakanda's secret riches and advanced technology to liberate all of his skinfolk. Following N'Jadaka's defeat, T'Challa was compelled to abandon the pretense that Wakanda was a struggling country in order to open the doors of the nation to the rest of the world.[11]

The agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. did their best to covertly contain Inhumans and other threats to world security. They were once again challenged when they discovered a sub-cult within Hydra, led by a former World Security Council member, devoted to a being believed to be the first Inhuman. This being was successful in returning to Earth and assuming control of Hydra, which put it into conflict with S.H.I.E.L.D.. The agents were able to destroy the being, but the process of doing so resulted in the loss of a few agents and a major power shift within the organization.[43]

In the midst of an escalation of superpowered battles and the growing tension between superheroes and private citizens, former blue-collar worker Adrian Toomes wanted revenge on the rich and powerful people of the world like Stark, who neglected the consequences of their destructive conflicts on average citizens. Repeatedly stealing from the Avengers, Toomes was eventually stopped by suburban crime-fighter Spider-Man.[44]

Six months after eliminating the remnants of the Kitchen Irish, Dogs of Hell, and the Mexican Cartels, Frank Castle had ceased his vigilantism and attempted to live a normal life. However, Frank had been contacted by David Lieberman regarding his participation in Operation Cerberus, a classified Central Intelligence Agency operation designed to remove individuals who have witnessed the agency's illegal activities. With the aid of Lieberman, Karen Page, and Department of Homeland Security agent Dinah Madani, Castle learns that his former commanding officer, Colonel Ray Schoonover had aid from high ranking CIA agent William Rawlins indirectly attempting to assassinate Castle and his family. Castle murders Rawlins and maims former U.S. Marine squadmate Billy Russo for their roles in participating in the conspiracy. During the aftermath, the C.I.A. Director covers up the events while expunging Frank's criminal record.[45]

Humanity had a close brush with extra-dimensional forces when Kaecilius, a rogue sorcerer, led a small splinter group away from the Masters of the Mystic Arts and stole forbidden knowledge from the Book of Cagliostro. His actions sparked a clandestine struggle between his own sect and the ancient order that resulted in the demise of many on both sides, including Earth's resident Sorcerer Supreme. Dr. Stephen Strange, an unlikely and reluctant hero, rose through the ranks of the masters to fight this menace, and ultimately stood alone in saving the world.[14]

S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had a brush with the supernatural themselves when the Darkhold was uncovered and opened. After having corrupted Eli Morrow, who vainly sought to use its dark power, it became an object of great interest to Dr. Holden Radcliffe. Radcliffe initially had his artificial creation, Aida, absorb knowledge from the book, and then had her create an artificial world within a digital network of computer systems worldwide. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, while successful in bringing an end to Morrow's attempt to secure unrestrained power, with the help of the Ghost Rider, were less successful in dealing with the technological problem that Radcliffe had created. Radcliffe himself died by Aida's hand, while several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were left trapped in his artificial digital world. However, they eventually escaped and put an end to Aida's evil plans.[46]

Jessica Jones, meanwhile investigating mysterious deaths, soon finds a connection to the secret research lab IGH and shortly thereafter her own connection to it as it was they who gave her her supernatural powers to save her from a car accident involving her family died to save. However, during her investigation, she also found that one of the leading forces of IGH was her own mother, who was presumed dead. With the help of her best friend and other allies, she finally caught her mother. However, this created a rift between her and her best friend, as the latter turned on her and killed her mother, much to Jessica's grief.[47]

Danny Rand, now being hunted by his childhood friend who seeks the power of the Iron Fist for himself, deeming Rand not worthy of such power, must band together old and new friends to save himself and the fate of the town, which eventually he did, and as a result, unleashed the true power of his chi.[48]

Daredevil, who soon reveals himself to the city he has sworn to protect from any adversity, must once again face Wilson Fisk, who has manipulatively taken control of the FBI, while also dealing with the bad reputation brought on Fisk's new protégé, mentally unstable FBI agent Benjamin Poindexter, forcing him to make amends and prove himself to both the police and those closest to him. Eventually, however, this protégé turned against Fist, resulting in Fist's re-arrest, restoration of Daredevil's reputation, and paralysis of Poindexter.[49]

In space, Thor's fruitless search for the Infinity Stones led him to discover that the Nine Realms were in chaos due to the negligent rule of Loki, masquerading as Odin. Not only had Loki left the people of the Nine Realms unprotected, but he had, by banishing Odin and stripping him off his powers, which resulted in his death, unknowingly released Odin's firstborn, Hela, the Goddess of Death, who banished the Asgardian princes to Sakaar and reclaimed Asgard for herself. Thor, with his allies, among them Hulk, from the gladiatorial planet, moved to retake Asgard from Hela but resorted to releasing Surtur and triggering the obliteration of the realm to ensure Hela's defeat and the survival of their people. By the end of it, Thor accepted the throne and the survivors sought refuge on Earth.[12]

Frank Castle, acquitted of all crimes he had committed in the past, now lived a peaceful life, free from all trouble. But he is soon forced to give up his current life again when he finds himself being hunted by the Aryan Brotherhood after rescuing a young girl named Amy Bendix, who was herself on the run from this criminal organization. To top it all off, William Russo, whom Castle left badly mutilated, has broken out of the psychiatry, seeking retribution and embarks on a journey of revenge. Eventually, Castle killed Russo, as well as the two leaders of the organization. [50]

Jessica Jones, whose investigation puts her in the crosshairs of a psychopathic serial killer, must rescue everyone she cares about and identify them before it's too late, while also dealing with her best friend's succumbing to bloodlust, and turning to a murderous vigilante. And although Jessica initially stood by her friend, she too recognized that there was no peaceful way out, and when the friend finally killed the serial killer in revenge for the murder of her mother and Jessica's adoptive mother, Jessica helped the police arrest the vigilante who now calling himself Hellcat [51]

Meanwhile on Earth, Hank Pym and his daughter Hope van Dyne were attempting to engineer a device which would allow them to bring Janet van Dyne, Hank's wife and Hope's mother, back from the Quantum Realm after seeing that Scott Lang survive a trip to the microcosmic realm. Their efforts were interrupted by the arrival of a vengeful Ghost, who sought to use quantum energy to cure herself of her powers. Hank and Hope called upon a house-arrested Scott for a team-up of Ant-Man and the new Wasp in order to take down Ghost and the greedy Sonny Burch, as well as to rescue Janet.[52]

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, six teenagers discover that their parents are secretly part of a criminal organization that annually commits murders to revive their leader, an ancient alien that dwelled on Earth for centuries. After realizing this, the teens try to prevent the alien's rebirth. But when that eventually fails and the parents succeed in their plan to revive the alien, they must defeat the alien. That finally takes place after many hurdles have been overcome and sacrifices made.

Thanos, on a quest to balance the universe by eliminating half its population, reclaimed all the Infinity Stones. After destroying Xandar for the Power Stone and eliminating half the Asgardian population for the Space Stone including killing Loki, Thanos and his Black Order moved towards Earth for the remaining Stones. The splintered cells of Avengers, aided by the Guardians of the Galaxy, stood no match for the Infinity Gauntlet-wielding Titanian. A team of Avengers made their final stand in Wakanda, but were unable to keep Vision and the Mind Stone out of Thanos' possession. With the Gauntlet now completed, Thanos instantaneously eliminated half of all life in the universe and retreated to a remote planet, leaving Earth's Mightiest Heroes to recover from their defeat.[53]

Phil Coulson's S.H.I.E.L.D. team resurfaced on Earth after being stranded in an alternate and post-apocalyptic future in 2091, now with new allies. With the knowledge they have gained of the future, they are now attempting to take out the last head of Hydra while also attempting to prevent the destruction of Earth caused by one of their own.They would eventually find out that it wasn't one of them, but a maddened former ally who accidentally destroyed the world. After the death of the last Head of Hydra, the team realized that, as mush as they wanted to save their ally, there was no way out. So they killed him to prevent the destruction of the earth and the future that followed, which they had seen.[54]

After locating Thanos, Thor brutally killed the Mad Titan after the latter revealed having destroyed the Infinity Stones.[55]

After the death of their leader, Coulson's team is scattered and must regroup when a new threat emerges that threatens to destroy Earth. However, the game isn't as white-and-black as they initially thought, as they learned that a team of aliens, whose leader bears the face of their dead teammate, wants to destroy Earth to eliminate a greater threat. An involuntary alliance must be formed to stop the greater threat, a parasite-like alien race that threatens to consume all of humanity, which culminated in a three-shot that the team of young S.H.I.E.L.D. agents can win with the help of Chronicom Enoch.[56]

Five years passed and the world reeled from losing loved ones in what was called "the Blip."[1] After Scott Lang returned from the Quantum Realm, he contacted the Avengers to talk about Time Travel and get the Infinity Stones from alternate timelines to revert the snap. They succeeded, but a Thanos from an alternate 2014 came to the present to get the Stones. Iron Man sacrificed himself by assimilating them into his armor and snapping his fingers to eliminate Thanos and his army. A funeral was held in his honor.[55]

After the Blip[]

In the aftermath of Thanos' invasion and the return of those who had been killed at his hand, much of society managed to regain its footing and continue on as normal.

The small town of Westview, New Jersey became the site of what seemingly was the next supernatural threat to face Earth. The threat response organization S.W.O.R.D. was quick to mobilize in order to investigate the Hex, a barrier placed around Westview that vanished its residents into an idyllic sitcom reality. They soon discovered that it was recently-resurrected Avenger Wanda Maximoff, overcome with grief after losing Vision, who was behind Westview's transformation. After meddling done by Salem witch Agatha Harkness, Wanda relinquished her fantasy reality with her husband and embraced her destiny as the Scarlet Witch, though while garnering the resentment of the townspeople whom she controlled against their will for the better part of a week.[15]

A group of renegade Eternals who have assimilated into humanity over the centuries. When three members of this group were attacked by a Deviant, who had been thought dead for millennia, they set out to find the rest of the group. Reunited, the Eternals discover the true reason for their existence and work to stop the birth of another Celestial that would cause the destruction of planet Earth and all life on it. Eventually, after a few sacrifices had to be made and one team member turned out to be a traitor, they managed to stop the Convergence and kill the Celestial before it could be born. [57]

One day when two friends, Shang-Chi and Katy, were riding a bus, they were attacked by a group of men, determined to obtain Shang-Chi's pendant. And while they did, the two friends embarked on a journey that would lead Shang-Chi to his sister. Together, the siblings find their way to their father, the Mandarin, leader of the Ten Rings. But while everything seemed peaceful at first, the siblings soon find out their father's dark plans. Aided by Shang-Chi's friend and an entire hidden village full of allies, they stop her father before he unleashes a soul-eating creature even worse than himself on humanity. After the Mandarin sacrifices himself for his son, giving him the Ten Rings to secure a victory over the beast, Shang-Chi is recruited into the Avengers by Dr. Strange's long-term ally Wong.[58]

In the wake of chaos caused by the sudden reemergence of half the planet's population, multiple organizations emerged hoping to stake their claim in creating the new world order. The international coalition known as the Global Repatriation Council and the United States government appointed a new Captain America to serve as a symbol of stability and protection during the tumultuous period. Conversely, the revolutionary, anti-nationalist group calling themselves the Flag Smashers emerged to disrupt the GRC's plans and return the world back to the liberated and united way of life during the five-year era of the Blip. Wanting to prevent all-out war between the two groups, while simultaneously protecting the legacy of Captain America's mantle, Steve Rogers' former allies the Falcon and Bucky Barnes went straight to the heart of the Flag Smashers' operation and, with the help of Helmut Zemo, put a stop to them. In doing so, Sam Wilson was pushed to shed his identity as the Falcon and reclaim the title of Captain America, who would now be a hero for all the world's people.[59]

Eight months after being brought back from the Blip, Spider-Man, as one of the only active remaining Avengers, was serving as a spokesperson trying to return hope to the public. Seeing the public's wanting for a "new superhero," a group of disgruntled former Stark Industries employees came together to create Mysterio, a phony super hero who fought "monsters from another universe". Although initially seeing him as an ally, Spider-Man discovered Mysterio's deception and put a stop to him. The actor portraying Mysterio accidentally took a fatal hit during the battle, but used his death and the public's trust in him as a way to frame Spider-Man and expose Peter Parker's secret identity.[1]

Multiverse[]

The exposure of his identity left Peter Parker's life, and the lives of his friends, profoundly disrupted. He asked Stephen Strange to cast a spell to erase the world's knowledge of his dual identity, but interrupted the casting numerous times to edit its parameters. This caused the spell to go awry, instead pulling people who knew Peter Parker's identity as Spider-Man from across the Multiverse to Earth-199999, specifically the Otto Octavius, Norman Osborn, and Flint Marko of Earth-96283 and the Curt Connors and Max Dillon of Earth-120703. Against Strange's wishes to simply undo the spell and send the outsiders back to their realities, where they faced certain death, Parker sought to use his engineering skills to find ways to relieve them of the conditions that drove them to evil. His attempt sabotaged and Aunt May killed by Osborn's Green Goblin persona, Parker teamed up with with his counterparts from those two realities to finish the job. To properly fix the spell and send the variants back before all of reality spilled into theirs, Strange had to completely erase Peter Parker's identity from the world.[60]

Stephen Strange is attending his ex-girlfriend's wedding when the town is suddenly attacked by a being. During a fight with this that ended in Strange's favour, he replies to a girl that was the target of the being. He already remembered seeing her in a dream in which he died, but it is quickly revealed that those dreams are lives of his variants within the multiverse. To protect the girl, Strange tried to enlist the help of Wanda Maximoff, only to find that she was the one after Chavez, wielding the Darkhold and grieving by the loss of Vision and her fake children following the events of Westview, planning on killing Chavez and absorbing her powers to travel the multiverse, kill another version of herself, and take their children as her own. After Wanda, now acting as the Scarlet Witch, completely destroyed the Kamar-Taj and killed most of the magicians present there, Strange escaped to an alternate reality with the girl, America, while the Scarlet Witch took Wong hostage and forced him to Mount Wundagore after the Darkhold had been destroyed during her attack. With the ability to Dreamwalk, Wanda now took control of her Earth-838 variant's body, and massacred the Illumanti there to get America. Strange then dreamwalked back to Earth-199999 himself, possessinig his dead variant's corpse, before encouraging America to face the Scarlet Witch, convincing her to stop by tricking her into strangling her in front of the Earth-838 variants of her children. After being informed by her variant that "they will be loved", Wanda destroys Mount Wondagore, killing herself, in the process destroying all Darkhold copies across the known multiverse.[2]

Residents

Notes

Trivia

  • This universe was visited off-panel by the Young Avengers, when they traveled through the Multiverse looking for Speed.[72]
  • Earth-199999 has spawned several alternate timelines of its own:
    • See: Earth-199999 Diverged Realities
    • The Framework, a virtual reality recreation of Earth-199999, which largely diverged in 2008 when Melinda May saved the young Inhuman Katya Belyakov in Bahrain, resulting in Hydra taking over the United States.[73][74]
    • An unnamed reality where the Gibborim Magistrate known as Jonah succeeded in freeing his spaceship from the bedrock of Los Angeles, resulting in a devastated California. The Chase Stein of this reality managed to send a message back to 2017,[75] though it went unheeded.[76] Earth-199999 diverged from this future in early 2018, when the Gibborim spaceship was destroyed, and the Magistrate's host body Jonah was slain by Nico Minoru.[77]
    • An unnamed reality which diverged in 2018 when Clint Barton travelled back in time from 2023 to his farm and returned with his son's baseball mitt.[55]
    • An unnamed reality which diverged in 2017, when D'Spayre killed Tyrone Johnson in order to take away Tandy Bowen's hopes.[78]
    • The Healing Algorithm, a virtual reality designed by Jonah with Gibborim technology in order to expedite a human's healing. Similarly to the Framework, anyone plugged into it would live out their ideal life, though they could become aware of the illusion with enough clues.[79][80]
      • Chase Stein's Algorithm saw him rescue Gert Yorkes and kill off P.R.I.D.E. to avenge the fallen Runaways.[80]
      • Janet Stein's Algorithm saw her switching roles with her husband, Victor. While she became a successful businesswoman, Victor became her devoted stay-at-home husband.[80]
      • Karolina Dean's Algorithm saw her getting married to Nico Minoru in a ceremony officiated by her mother Leslie and attended by all of the Runaways and P.R.I.D.E.[80]
  • In She-Hulk (Vol. 2) #23, two bystanders at a movie theater are shown watching a trailer for an in-universe Hulk movie that emulates The Incredible Hulk.

See Also

Links and References

References

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  2. 2.0 2.1 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
  3. Loki S1E01
  4. 4.0 4.1 Eternals
  5. 5.0 5.1 Guardians of the Galaxy
  6. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S2E11
  7. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S2E12
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  9. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. S3E08
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